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Martin lawyer says civil-rights case would be different

WASHINGTON, July 14 (UPI) -- A lawyer for Trayvon Martin's family said a civil-rights case against George Zimmerman might have a different outcome than the murder trial that acquitted him.

Zimmerman was found innocent Saturday of murdering Martin, 17, in a confrontation in the Florida neighborhood where Zimmerman was a neighborhood watch volunteer; however the NAACP has urged the federal government to prosecute Zimmerman for allegedly violating the civil rights of the slain black teenager.

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Attorney Daryl Parks refused to say on "Fox News Sunday" if Zimmerman had indeed violated Martin's rights, but he said the case would be quite different than the murder trial. "You have to understand different laws apply to different times, different places," Parks said. "So that would be a different arena."

Parks noted in particular there would be a different venue for any federal case. "The criminal case was here in Sanford, but in the event that there's a federal case, it would be in Orlando; totally different dynamics," he said.

Parks said the Martin family was disappointed with Saturday's verdict. "We accept the decision, but we don't agree with their decision," he said.

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Martin's parents left Sanford before the verdict was reached on the advice of counsel, Parks said. Their wishes were for people to remain calm and use the death of Martin as a platform to "make America a bigger and brighter country."

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